


The Art of Flying

by corellianrogue



Series: A Step to the Left of Reality [13]
Category: Dong Bang Shin Ki
Genre: Dreams, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-18 22:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/565900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corellianrogue/pseuds/corellianrogue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>There is an art, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. … Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties. </i><br/>-Life, the Universe, and Everything</p><p>Rising Gods, by definition, can never fall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art of Flying

**Author's Note:**

> Based loosely around Jaejoong’s confession to Yunho on MC Mong’s radio show from October of 2008. Simple translation [here](http://dbsker.blogspot.com/2008/10/2008-10-08-tvxqs-confessions-on-mc.html) or youtube vid [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kAJ0tg9R2c).

He groans, rolling away from the incessant poking and _hey, Yunho-yah, hey, you awake?_ and the knowledge that, well, he is now. Whether he wants to be or not. Such were the trials and tribulations of leadership. ...And the poking wasn't going to stop, was it.  
  
_Hey, yourself. Don’t you ever sleep like normal people?_  
  
When have I ever been normal?  
  
And Yunho hates to admit it, but Jaejoong has a point. So he sighs and rolls back over and sits up, all very begrudgingly, until he sees the look on Jaejoong's face. This isn't a normal nightmare or Changmin breaking his favorite pot while trying to boil ramyun. It isn't _go back to sleep, Jaejoongie, I'll make him pay you back in the morning_ or even _you can sleep here tonight_ to make everything better.  
  
He shoves the sheets away, grabbing Jaejoong's hand before the guilt can start setting in. He knows how these nights go. Step one is panic, which makes him wake Yunho up, but then step two is... well...  
  
_Sorry, maybe-_  
  
I wasn't sleeping well, anyway. You can keep me company.  
  
And they both see through the lie, but believing it isn't what matters.  
  
The apartment is cold and quiet, for once. It's only nights like these that he sees it like this. The way Jaejoong looks some mornings, though, he thinks maybe their lead singer sees a lot more of them than he wakes Yunho up for.  
  
_Does Yoochun still keep that stash of soju under his bed with everything he stole from Changmin's porn stash?_  
  
Yunho-  
  
Relax, I'm not going to tell on you. To management or Changmin.  
  
The latter is probably a good deal scarier than the former, all things considered. They'd all dealt with management’s wrath, but Changmin's was something else entirely.  
  
He leaves Jaejoong sitting in the living room while he raids Jaejoong and Yoochun's shared bedroom for booze. If their fans could see them now, he thinks, and almost laughs. Except that would wake Yoochun up and defeat the entire purpose. So he doesn't, and he gets the booze, and he goes back out, and he gives Jaejoong a hug that's returned with far more clinging than is strictly necessary. Then he pours Jaejoong a generous shot and himself a slightly smaller one. Someone would need to be coherent tomorrow morning.  
  
_What were they this time?_  
  
We were falling. From cliffs. Or maybe they were just really grey clouds. It was a lot of falling.  
  
He sighs. Jaejoong has these dreams a lot, usually right before a new album drops, when the practices and rehearsals and recordings and promotions get too much for him, for all of them.  
  
_I kept trying to catch all of you, but you were all falling faster than me, and I couldn't._  
  
He waits. He knows it's coming.  
  
_I'm sorry._  
  
He puts down his glass and pulls Jaejoong into another hug that's more clinging than hugging, kissing his forehead without thinking. That's his Jaejoong. Apologizing for not being able to rescue them even in a nightmare.  
  
There are a number of options now. He goes with the easiest one. He doesn't say a thing and lets the silence force Jaejoong's tongue.  
  
_What if that's us? What if it was an omen and something's going to happen and we're all going to... to... something, and you'll all leave me behind and everyone will hate me and-_  
  
He doesn't want to, but it's late, and Jaejoong is rambling, and the situation is absurd, so he starts laughing, and now he knows he has to say something before Jaejoong's confusion becomes indignation or worse.  
  
_We're Dong Bang Shin Ki, Joongie. Gods don't fall._  
  
But what if-  
  
No what ifs. They don’t pay me enough to think about those. I just know it won’t be us.  
  
And that's that. He's the leader. He says the Rising Gods won't fall, so they won't.  
  
Jaejoong is quiet for long enough that Yunho starts to wonder if he fell asleep sitting up. It wouldn't be the first time. But just then, Jaejoong nods and downs what's left of his glass, and Yunho's, too. Probably for the best. One of them really does have to be coherent in the morning.  
  
At least there's an apology breakfast to look forward to. There's always an apology breakfast after nights like these. Even though Jaejoong should know there's nothing to apologize for.  
  
_Come on. Get a couple hours sleep, at least. For me?_ He's wearing his best puppy-dog face and he knows it works when Jaejoong laughs, slapping a hand over his mouth to keep from waking anyone else. Yunho would be lying if he said that didn't make the inevitable exhaustion worth it.  
  
_Thanks, Yunnie._  
  
There's a note in Jaejoong's tone that Yunho is far too tired to figure out, but it's Jaejoong, and he's not really meant to be figured out, anyway, so Yunho doesn't feel too bad about just taking the words at face value.  
  
_Any time._  
  
He shoos Jaejoong off to his own bed with promises of _sleep, I mean it, or I'll steal all your face cream and let the fans see the bags under your eyes_ before dropping into his own only to end up staring at the ceiling thinking about Jaejoong's dream. He worries about Jaejoong, of course, about the things he says and does that makes him wonder if the _can't live without them, want to be with them forever_ act isn't just an act. But then, he worries about all of them more often than not. That's what leaders are for. _No, that's what family is for._ He nods to himself. Better.  
  
A glance at his clock says the alarm is going to go off in less than an hour, which means the slight rustling sound he can hear coming from the kitchen is Jaejoong, ignoring him as always, starting on that apology breakfast because he knows Yunho will never actually steal his face cream. Gods owe it to the fans as much as each other to keep up appearances.  
  
He nods to himself, turning over to get as much sleep as possible in the short amount of time left until it all starts again. Jaejoong would be exhausted and Yoochun would be suspicious and Junsu and Changmin would just be thrilled to have a hot breakfast for once and everything would be as it should be. And he'd make sure it stayed that way.  
  
Rising Gods can't fall. So he won't let them.


End file.
